by Paul Singer, USA TODAY

by Paul Singer, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it will continue to review whether Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., violated federal law or House rules by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to a former staffer to advise his congressional office for 10 years.

The Ethics Committee, in announcing that it will continue to look into the Gutiérrez matter, also released a report by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics concluding that "there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Gutiérrez used funds from his (office account) for an impermissible purpose - to retain an individual to provide services to his congressional office that more closely resembled those provided by an employee or consultant rather than a contractor - in violation of federal law and House rules."

The Ethics Committee did not launch a formal investigative subcommittee for the Gutierrez matter, instead extending its informal review which has no deadline for action.

The OCE report is based on a contract that was properly disclosed and repeatedly approved by House officials, said Gutiérrez's spokesman Douglas Rivlin in a statement. The only question left for the Ethics Committee is "whether the approved contract was permissible under ambiguous House rules," Rivlin said.

".As the Committee reviews this matter, Congressman Gutiérrez and his office will continue to cooperate fully," Rivlin added. "As the Committee points out, its review does not indicate that any violation has occurred or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee."

The investigation began after USA TODAY published a story last June showing that Gutiérrez had paid more than $500,000 to his former chief of staff, Doug Scofield, in regular monthly payments after Scofield had left the office and set up his own public relations and lobbying firm in Chicago in 2003.

The OCE report notes that Gutiérrez initially retained Scofield for "staff development" and other training, but the services Scofield ended up providing "appear to have exceeded the permissible services that non-employees may provide under House rules and regulations."

Gutiérrez is serving his 11th term in the House, representing the west side of Chicago, and has long been a leading advocate of pro-immigrant changes to the nation's immigration system.

Scofield had been Gutiérrez's chief of staff for a decade when he left in 2002 to join the office of newly elected Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. A few months later, according to the OCE report, Scofield told Gutiérrez he had made a mistake and was going to leave the governor's office and start his own public relations consulting firm. Gutiérrez told investigators that he had never wanted to lose Scofield in the first place and was happy to "have Doug back."

Over the ensuing years, Scofield provided a wide range of non-legislative services, including conducting staff reviews in Gutiérrez's district office and helping with speeches, press releases and other activities, the report shows. The report also indicates that Scofield was involved in discussions over legislative strategy on immigration overhaul legislation, and participated in writing and editing some of the congressman's floor speeches as well.

Members of the U.S. House are given annual budgets to run their offices, and each member has a cap on the number of employees they may hire. Beyond that, rules set out by the House Administration Committee say, "Member offices are not authorized to procure consultant services." However, "Members may contract with firms or individuals only for general, non-legislative and non-financial, office services (e.g., equipment maintenance, systems integration, data entry, staff training, photography, custodial services, web services)" for specified time periods.

Gutiérrez told the ethics board that he had no time period in mind for Scofield's employment and that he would still be working there if it were not for the press reports last summer. Shortly after USA TODAY reported the relationship, Gutiérrez canceled Scofield's contract.

During the years he was working for Gutiérrez, Scofield also registered as a lobbyist in Illinois and represented a handful of local clients, including the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The investigative panel said there was some evidence that Scofield had reached out to Gutiérrez's then-chief of staff to discuss federal appropriations for the food depository, but neither Scofield nor the chief of staff - who has since left the office - would cooperate with the investigation, so the panel could not draw any conclusions. While Scofield was working for both the food depository and Gutierrez, the organization announced that the congressman had been instrumental in helping to secure federal funding.

Gutiérrez told investigators he knew that Scofield had a lobbying business in Illinois, but he did not know the details.